Friday, June 20, 2008 LTFRB to hold hearing today on P.50 fare hike
LESS than a month since the minimum public transport fare was provisionally increased by 50 centavos, a similar adjustment is being considered to help the sector deal with rising fuel prices.
The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) will conduct a hearing today on the proposed P0.50 provisional fare increase, pending its ruling on the petition for a P2.50 fare increase filed by two transport groups.
If the second 50-centavo provisional increase is approved, the new minimum will be P7 for the first five kilometers, said LTFRB 7 Director Romulo Bernardes.
The hearing at 2 p.m. today will tackle the temporary increase and is separate from the P2.50 increase that was debated in hearing last June 11.
Behind the P2.50 petition are the Cebu Integrated Transport Service Multi-Purpose Cooperative (Citrasco) and the Visayas United Drivers’ Transport Service Cooperative (Vudtrasco).
Bernardes said that the petition for a P2.50 fare increase will be set aside in the meantime and his office will instead focus on the provisional increase.
The first P0.50 provisional increase was implemented last May 21, a day after President Arroyo held her Cabinet meeting in Dauis, Bohol. Among those who attended were LTFRB Chairman Thompson Lantion and Secretary Leandro Mendoza of the Department of Transportation and Communication (DOTC).
The LTFRB, said Ber-nardes, decided to conduct a hearing first on the second P0.50 provisional increase because all the petitions for fare increase in Manila were withdrawn.
The petitioners backed off from a fare increase and decided to avail themselves of the government’s conversion program.
Government has allocated P1 billion for the conversion of gasoline and diesel-fed engines to the cheaper liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).
Richard Cabucos, chairman of the Metro Cebu Taxi Operators’ Association (MCTOA), said that nearly all the 5,000 or so taxis in Cebu run on LPG. This has allowed them to put off any petition for a fare increase.
However, a homeowners’ association noticed that since taxis were converted to LPG two years ago, the price of cooking gas also increased from P400 to P650 for every 11-kilogram tank as demand increased.
During the June 11 hearing, Bernardes acknowledged the complaints of students and senior citizens that drivers and conductors violated the law in refusing to give them their 20 percent fare discount.
While the present minimum fare is P6.50, students and senior citizens are only required to pay P5.20. (EOB)
